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CSST lays blame on employers in fatal quarry landslide

JOLIETTE - The Workers' Health and Safety Board (CSST) is laying the blame on two employers for landslide that occurred last January in Epiphanie, in which two truck drivers were killed.

Daniel Brisebois and Marie-Claude Laporte died when their vehicles were swept away by a landslide that occurred at a quarry owned by Maskimo Construction.

Another worker, a shovel operator, was injured in the accident.

The investigation by the CSST concluded the excavation work taking place at the site, which is susceptible to landslides, triggered the soil to move, which then dragged the three workers to the bottom of the quarry.

The Commission judged that the planning and supervision of the work to expand the quarry were lacking, notably because the expansion work was done while the impact on soil stability were unknown.

The landslide occurred while the operator excavator was conducting excavation work around the quarry and was loading the two trucks, which were behind the shovel.

Following the accident, the CSST blocked access to the area around the scene of the accident, and required all work carried out inside that area to be are approved by an engineer specializing in soil mechanics.

The CSST determined Maskimo Construction and Excavations G. Allard, the deceased’s employers, acted in such a way that endangered the health and safety of their workers. The commission issued the companies statements of offence for assorted fines.

The fines for this type of offence vary from $15,700 to $62,800 for a first offence and $31,400 to $157,000 in the case of a recurrence.

The CSST will also notify other quarry operators of their findings so they can implement preventive measures to avoid landslides during excavation.